Derek Fisher finds his groove in the Cape

Derek Fisher enjoying an all-star season with Harwich in the Cape Cod summer league.

Derek Fisher is enjoying a standout season playing the Cape Cod League, hitting at a .365 clip that is fourth-best in the league. His efforts have landed him in the all-star game this weekend.
(PHOTO COURTESY OF MARY ALBIS/HARWICH MARINERS)

If you're an aspiring pro baseball player, you head north for the summer.

Derek Fisher has called Wisconsin, and now Cape Cod, home from June to August during the summers of 2012 and '13. It's a place for the Cedar Crest grad - and many players like him - to keep his skills sharp after a long Division I college baseball season.

To date, the Massachusetts ocean mist has been a breath of fresh air for the University of Virginia junior-to-be. Fisher, a left fielder for the Harwich Mariners, is fourth in the league with a .365 batting average through 25 games and has been selected to play in this weekend's all-star game.

After a 4-for-16 start to the Cape season, the lefthanded hitter was able to raise his average as high as .397 earlier this month. Fisher's only extra-base hits are four doubles, and he has 16 RBIs and 12 stolen bases.

"Each summer, I go in with goals," said the 6-foot-3, 205-pounder. "It's never been about stats. I don't shoot for a certain amount of RBIs. Summer baseball is a way to find yourself and figure out what works for you."

Last year, following his freshman year in Charlottesville, Va., Fisher played in the Northwoods League in Madison, Wisc., which is where his Virginia coaches recommended he spend the summer. This year, the Cavaliers strongly suggested Fisher play in Cape Cod, which is arguably the most prestigious summer league in the country.

"Last year, I was told to look at Madison," Fisher said.

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"Historically, Virginia sends people to different places.

"It (the competition in Cape Cod) obviously is pretty good. I have a feeling some other leagues don't get enough credit. There's players everywhere. Players are gonna go where coaches want them to go. Other summer leagues have players who can hold their own up here."

As far as how the Cape competition compares to Division I college ball, Fisher doesn't see much difference.

"I'm not gonna see anything up here I haven't seen in school," he said. "It's such a well-rounded game. You're gonna face a quality arm every time. Defensively, there are infielders who are ridiculous. Outfielders can run, and catchers can receive and throw. There's really no weak link."

Fisher finished up his sophomore year at Virginia with a .293 average, which included seven home runs and 48 RBIs in 55 games played, all of which were starts. The Cavaliers finished ranked sixth in the country with a 50-12 mark, losing in the third and deciding game of super regionals to Mississippi State, which went on to reach the championship game of the College World Series in Omaha.

In that third game, Fisher came to the plate in the top of the ninth inning of a 6-5 game with runners on second and third and two outs.

Derek Fisher sports a throwback look, complete with the old-school baggy uniform and thin mustache as a member of the Harwich Mariners. (PHOTO COURTESY OF MARY ALBIS/HARWICH MARINERS)

A hit could have sent Virginia to Omaha, but Fisher grounded out, ending the Cavaliers' season for the second straight year.

"It was nothing more than a learning experience," Fisher said of that final at-bat. "We played hard and obviously Mississippi State earned it. It's not something that's going to make me feel like I did something wrong.

"I understand how hard you work to get to that point. You get what you get. I'm starting to understand how much time everyone puts into it. I look at it as a chip on my shoulder as opposed to failing."

Fisher has struggled in the postseason at Virginia, going just 2-for-37 in two seasons in the regional and super regional playoffs.

Dealing with slumps like that is all very much a part of the game. Theoretically, Fisher could be a millionaire playing in Texas' farm system (most likely) this summer after being drafted by the Rangers in the sixth round in 2011.

However, Fisher opted to turn down pro baseball - for now - and go the college route. It's a decision he doesn't regret.

"At UVA, failure came quick and I didn't know how to cope with it," he said. "I had never failed in high school.

"I thought I worked hard (in high school), and when I got to school I learned I didn't really work hard at all. If I would have signed a pro baseball contract, I would have been lost. I wouldn't trade this decision for anything in the world."

Fisher - a history major at Virginia who admitted he doesn't want to become a history teacher - is again eligible for the pro baseball draft in 2014 following his junior season. It's something he plans to take in stride.

"I have a pretty good awareness what's at stake after experiencing that in high school," he said. "Whatever happens, happens. I just want to play the game and get better. The first two years at UVA have flown by."